Autism, attributions and accommodations. Overcoming barriers and integrating a neurodiverse workforce

Date04 June 2019
Published date04 June 2019
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2018-0116
Pages915-934
AuthorEric Patton
Subject MatterHr & organizational behaviour
Autism, attributions and
accommodations
Overcoming barriers and integrating a
neurodiverse workforce
Eric Patton
Haub School of Business,
Saint Josephs University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a growing segment of the population
but face important obstacles in the workplace. Even for ASD individuals with the mildest form/highest-
functioning type, unemployment is 80 percent, and many of those who work are underemployed. This in spite
of the fact that these individuals are highly intelligent and capable of excellent work. The purpose of this
paper is to present a model of the unique challenges that workers with ASD face in the modern workplace
based on stigmas and discrimination surrounding mental health, attribution theory and the disconnect
between behaviors common to neurodiverse individuals and some of the most researched theories in the field
of organizational behavior. The goal of the paper is to encourage more empirical research focused specifically
on ASD workers.
Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature on ASD in juxtaposed to evidence-based social
psychology and management theories to demonstrate the difficulties faced by individuals with ASD.
Findings Recommendations for overcoming these barriers and using management theories to help
integrate ASD workers are discussed.
Originality/value Workers with ASD are a growing population in the workforce, but have received scant
research attention. This is the first paper to link several theories to ASD and the hope is that subsequent
research will illuminate these relationships empirically.
Keywords Critical, Autism spectrum disorder, Diversity management
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Over the last 10 years, a growing number of practitioners and management researchers
have turned their attention to a segment of thepopulationthatisgrowinginnumber,
represents a potential source of valuable talent, but suffers from both unemployment and
underemployment: workers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), one in every 5068 children in the USA
is and will be diagnosed with autism, and an estimated 500,000 young adults on the
autism spectrum are expected to join the workforce in the next five years (Chu, 2015;
Johnson and Joshi, 2016).
While many of us who teach in university settings are accustomed to providing special
accommodations to our students with learning disabilities or neurological disorders, the
modern twenty-first century workplace is still ill-prepared and, in many cases, unwelcoming
to neurodiverse workers (i.e. individuals with neurological differences such as autism, which
are somewhat rare but still part of the regular variation within the human population).
Although a growing number of companies, such as SAP, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Willis
Towers Watson, Ford and Ernst & Young (Austin and Pisano, 2017) have instituted
programs to tap into the special talents of these workers and accommodate them into the
workplace, scholars have recognized that there is a lack of theoretical and empirical research
on workers with mental/psychological/neurological conditions in comparison with other
forms of diversity (Bruyère et al., 2004; Negri, 2009; Santuzzi et al., 2014). The purpose of this
paper is to present a model of workplace barriers that ASD workers face, and a roadmap for
Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 4, 2019
pp. 915-934
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-04-2018-0116
Received 2 April 2018
Revised 17 September 2018
16 November 2018
Accepted 16 December 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
915
Autism,
attributions and
accommodations
their inclusion. Drawing heavily on research in the areas of stigma and attribution theory,
the paper will also highlight that many of our current management theories and practices
represent true barriers to workers on the autism spectrum as the very nature of ASD runs
counter to many of our most respected theories in organizational behavior. To truly
accommodate these often talented workers into our organizations, not only will their special
needs have to be accommodated, but common definitions of such things as a good
employee,and views on leadership, personality and other management topics may require
rethinking. Ultimately, the goal of this paper is to highlight the specific challenges faced by
workers on the autism spectrum, and to promote more empirical research focused on this
growing segment of the population.
Autism spectrum disorder an overview
As a spectrum disorder, it is somewhat difficult to describe a typical personon the autism
spectrum. As noted by one expert, When youve met one person with autism, youve met
one person with autism [](Chu, 2015). While the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, Fourth edition (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 2000) broke
ASD down into several subcategories such as autistic disorder, Aspergers, and childhood
disintegrative disorder, the 2013 Fifth Edition (DSM-V, American Psychiatric Association,
2013) provides a single, broad definition of ASD. The DSM-V defines ASD as follows: A
neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by persistent deficits in social
communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, including deficits in social
reciprocity, non-verbal communicative behaviors used for social interactions, and skills in
developing, maintaining and understanding relationships(Hensel, 2017). Consistent with
the concept of a spectrum, there is a wide range of severity levels under the ASD umbrella.
In the most severe cases, autistic individuals may lack the ability to speak, and suffer from
intellectual and physical impairments that will require life-long support and constant care
(Van Wieren et al., 2008). For the purpose of this paper, the focus is on individuals toward
the other end of the extreme who are termed high-functioningindividuals with autism,
with few limitations on every-day activities.
While every individual case is different, the three primary characteristics of the
disorder for highly functioning individuals on the autism spectrum are: dif ficulty in verbal
and non-verbal communication, difficulties with social interactions and a pattern of
ritualized and repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013;
Hendrickx, 2008; World Health Organization, 2013). From a communications
perspective, individuals on the autism spectrum often have difficulty with pragmatic
language, have difficulty expressing wants and needs, may not offer clarification when
misunderstood, may speak with unusual volume, pitch and rhythm, may have great
difficulty in understanding the nuances of sarcasm, idioms and humor, and often failwhen
it comes to making eye contact and understanding facial expressions and body language.
In terms of social interactions, individuals on the spectrum often have difficulty initiating
conversations,maynotrespondwhencalledbynameorspokendirectlyto,maynot
respond or take an interest in the feelings or preferences of others, may not respond to
praise, have difficulty comforting others and may have an aversion to physical contact
with others. Finally, ritualized behavior may manifest itself through tight adherence
to routines, excessive resistance to change or with unplanned events, being excessively
rule-bound and inflexible in thinking, and through repetitive questioning or speaking on
the same topic.
Although these factors make success in the workplace a challenge, individuals on the
autism spectrum also have a great deal to offer employers. Workers with ASD are generally
very hardworking, detail-oriented, have extraordinary memory, are visual learners and
thinkers, are very loyal, honest, perseverant and reliable, are non-judgmental and are highly
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